Getting detained by airport security wasn’t the way Mayor Peter Kelly wanted to start a day of meetings with the mayors of Canada’s biggest municipalities.
But when Kelly attempted to board a flight to Toronto from Halifax with a bullet in his carry-on, that’s exactly what happened.
Kelly was stopped by security at Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport Thursday just before 6 a.m. after they discovered a 9mm bullet in his briefcase. According to Kelly, he found the bullet several weeks earlier in Grand Parade, picking it up with the intention of turning it over to Halifax Regional Police.
“I had my briefcase bag in my office at the time and threw the bullet in the bag,” Kelly explained in a release about the mishap sent out around 5 p.m. Thursday. “Unfortunately, (I) forgot about it until airport security found it (Thursday) morning.”
Kelly was on his way to the Big City Mayors’ Caucus in Toronto at the time of the incident. After being detained and questioned by police, Kelly was able to board his flight to Toronto.
Kelly said he was sorry — and embarrassed — for what happened.
“I apologize wholeheartedly to the security personnel and Stanfield International for my oversight,” he said. “I would never have intentionally caused a security breach and I am suitably embarrassed.”
